The Free Press obtained internal emails through an access-to-information request showing Immigration Department officials’ contingency planning last winter. Officials were preparing for the possibility of another onslaught of asylum-seekers crossings into Manitoba from the United States which, ultimately, never materialized.

The province experienced a peak in such crossings in March 2017, when the RCMP registered 170 asylum-seekers. But the past 10 months have each reported fewer than 55 cases, sometimes fewer than 20.

In December 2017, officials from multiple federal and provincial departments held a “tabletop exercise” at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg, to clarify both governments’ jurisdictions and test their preparedness for an upshot in Manitoba claimants.

The Free Press obtained internal emails through an access-to-information request showing Immigration Department officials’ contingency planning last winter. Officials were preparing for the possibility of another onslaught of asylum-seekers crossings into Manitoba from the United States which, ultimately, never materialized.

The province experienced a peak in such crossings in March 2017, when the RCMP registered 170 asylum-seekers. But the past 10 months have each reported fewer than 55 cases, sometimes fewer than 20.

In December 2017, officials from multiple federal and provincial departments held a "tabletop exercise" at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg, to clarify both governments’ jurisdictions and test their preparedness for an upshot in Manitoba claimants.

Officials realized it wasn’t clear who would be in charge of preparing emergency shelters if needed: "No agency had a clear mandate to provide accommodations, therefore planning efforts on accommodations has been minimal, pending senior management clarification," reads a summary prepared by the department.

In January, immigration officials piloted a mobile processing unit at Emerson, the border community near where asylum-seekers have crossed from the United States, allowing claimants to be registered in an on-site trailer and kept away from the elements before likely being transported to Winnipeg.

The trailer was intended to be used if dozens of people started arriving over the course of a day, though that did not happen.

That same month, an immigration official noted Winnipeg’s housing stock in an email, pointing out the city’s 2.7 per cent vacancy rate. The official noted 1,500 units available, two-thirds "within an affordable range," while "all other major cities are much less (vacant) — some have zero" vacancy.

In February, another official noted colleagues were trying to get Manitoba to speed up its processing for Employment Insurance (EI) and "housing, once (asylum-seekers) have access to (EI), still represents a tension point for provincial authorities."

In late April, Premier Brian Pallister visited Ottawa and asked for roughly $7.9 million in compensation for the cost of housing and feeding asylum-seekers.

In June, Ottawa announced $3 million for the province to cover housing costs, and said more would be coming for other expenses. The Liberals haven’t announced any money since, and Pallister’s office said he raised the issue with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at their meeting in Winnipeg Tuesday.

When the federal government announced Manitoba’s funding for housing in June, it also announced funds for Ontario and Quebec, where crossings have not slowed. On Tuesday, the new intergovernmental affairs minister, Dominic LeBlanc, said more money will go to Manitoba once it’s confirmed, and the province won’t have to wait for Ottawa to determine other provinces’ cash.

The December contingency planning also raised an issue about the border agency, stating the "CBSA Manitoba plan (was) not completely aligned with their national plan and will maintain this position based on their regional reality." The Free Press has asked the border agency to clarify that comment.

The summary also noted "better preparedness by all partners" in Manitoba, compared to British Columbia.

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Similar contingency exercises took place elsewhere in Canada, including Vancouver, where officials noted a "very tight rental market" and much higher costs. "Housing capacity and co-ordination is going to be a significant pressure and (we) will need to have a plan to ensure the flow is managed," wrote a Vancouver manager.

The B.C. summary also noted the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada — which faces a massive backlog in hearings to determine refugee status — "needs to be more embedded in the plan; were engaged late." That could have implications for Manitoba, as IRB hearings in Winnipeg are facilitated through a video conference, usually with an adjudicator based in B.C.

The B.C. summary also identified "more work to be done on the accommodations piece; specifically identifying where federal responsibility ends."

The federal government already pays for asylum claimants’ health care, but not language training, legal aid or housing, including homeless shelters.

The Free Press requested the records in March and received 20 pages almost six months later.

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